Stakeholder involvement is crucial in mainstreaming and upscaling Nature-based Solutions (NbS). That is why our partner GRAIE created workshops dedicated to the topic. In total, they planned five workshops, one for every six months until 2026. The first two of these workshops have been successfully organised and carried out in 2024. In this article they look back at the process of setting up the workshop, first experiences, and their plans for the future.
For stakeholders, by stakeholders
An important component of the workshops is the group involved. In this case, local public and private river managers involved in the Rhône River Restoration Programme (responsible for the implementation of NbS) as well as experts in participatory approaches.
A unique opportunity
Since the 1990’s, the Rhône River Restoration Programme has been supporting a large diversity of NbS to restore more natural fluvial processes. Many local practitioners implementing such projects identify stakeholder involvement processes as a major challenge for their success. These challenges provide a unique opportunity to come together and tackle them collectively, but the practitioners never shared their experiences in stakeholder involvement until now.
The workshops organised by GRAIE allow participants to capitalise on these experiences, share the knowledge developed by the river managers and associated public bodies, develop their skills and create a professional network around stakeholder involvement processes related to NbS along the Rhône River.
Outcome of the first two workshops
The first two workshops were held in May and October last year. About 12 to 17 people took part in the reflective exercises on their practices.
The first workshop was dedicated to setting up stakeholder involvement processes as part of NbS projects. After the participants shared their experiences, they identified nine different themes in which they had knowledge gaps. These themes were then grouped into three main questions, which will serve as a guideline for the coming workshops. These are:
1. Why is it important to involve stakeholders as part of a NbS project?
2. What is the impact of a stakeholder involvement process on a NbS project?
3. What type of methods can be used to involve stakeholders?
During the second workshop, the participants discussed the first question. They identified three main reasons as to why it is important to involve stakeholders:
- Out of responsibility
- To ground the project or to better communicate about it
- As a moral posture.
While these three reasons can coexist, the personal experiences of the river managers in charge and the type of organisation they belong to heavily influence their eventual choices.
Up next
So far only two workshops were held, which means there are still three more to come. The next workshop will cover the topic of question two: the impact a stakeholder involvement process can have on a NbS project. It promises to be another fruitful workshop in which the participants will gain knowledge on stakeholder involvement!